Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann faced the toughest test of her MMA career this past Saturday and passed with flying colors. The standout wrestler took a convincing unanimous-decision victory over Japanese veteran Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano at ProElite 3 in Honolulu.

McMann (5-0 MMA, 2-0 PE) set the tone early in the featured bout by slamming Akano (18-9 MMA, 0-1 PE) to the mat. True to form, Akano was active with submission attempts from her back, but McMann stayed calm and struck from Akano’s guard. When referee Yuji Shimada brought the fighters back to their feet, McMann took Akano down again and even threatened with rear-naked and arm-triangle chokes before the bell.

McMann’s dominance continued in the second round as she used her strength advantage to overwhelm her smaller foe. A right hook and a grazing head kick scored for the American, and she tripped Akano to the mat. Akano looked to counter with a kimura, but McMann had none of it and punched from top position again. The fighters were stood up, and McMann slammed down her opponent, but Akano managed to trap McMann in a triangle choke in the dying seconds.

The final round was all McMann. She emphatically slammed Akano down to the canvas at will and was effective with strikes from the top while avoiding Akano’s submission attempts. Akano gamely fought on until the final bell, but the outcome was a foregone conclusion. All three cageside judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of McMann, who earned the biggest victory of her young career and sent a message to the rest of the women’s bantamweight division.

This past week on “The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo,” McMann discussed the career of fellow Olympic medalist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, who will challenge for the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title on March 3. McMann stated that she had been in talks to face Rousey in 2011 but that the judoka had turned down the fight.

For her part, Rousey contends that she agreed to face McMann at 145 pounds but declined a bout at 135 because she felt that it would be unhealthy for her to drop down a division. While a clash with McMann may not be in her immediate future, Rousey will indeed have to cut down to 135 pounds in six weeks when she challenges Strikeforce champ Miesha “Takedown” Tate. Failure to make weight would result in the loss of a tremendous opportunity.

Meanwhile, McMann has her sights set on new challenges in the bantamweight division as she continues to build up an impressive MMA resume – one that currently includes wins over far bigger names than that of her Olympic counterpart.

Waterson earns slick submission win after lengthy layoff

Despite a 21-month hiatus from competition, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson showed no signs of ring rust in her return to action this past Saturday. Waterson (9-3) submitted Diana “Dynamite” Rael (3-2) in the main event of Jackson’s MMA Series 7 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Both fighters were aggressive with strikes early in the 105-pound matchup, but it was Rael who scored with knees to the body in a clinch against the cage. She broke away with a nice combination of punches, but Waterson settled down and connected with a front kick to the upper body.

Rael took down Waterson and looked to be in control of the bout as she peppered Waterson with punches and elbows from half-guard. Rael made a costly mistake in trying to pass to mount, however, and Waterson exploded out from the bottom. In a split second, she took Rael’s back and locked on a rear-naked choke that forced Rael to submit at the 2:12 mark of the opening round.

The victory was arguably Waterson’s biggest to date, and the popular Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter now has won three straight fights. Waterson sat out all of 2011 after the birth of her daughter, but she appears poised to make a run to the top of the women’s strawweight division this year.

Earlier on the same card, Waterson’s teammate Jodie Esquibel (2-0) picked up a lopsided unanimous-decision victory over Arizona’s Amy Riehle (0-2). Esquibel’s extensive experience in boxing was on display throughout the 15-minute fight as she kept Riehle on the defensive with lead left hooks and quick combinations.

Riehle stuck to the outside and tried to keep Esquibel at bay with front kicks to the body, but Esquibel remained a step ahead throughout the fight and continued to score with crisp punches. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Esquibel, who earned her second victory under the Jackson’s MMA Series banner.

Cummins followed up on her stellar 8-0 amateur career by submitting XFL champion Chelsea “The Italian Princess” Colarelli in her November pro debut. The win earned Cummins the XFL 115-pound women’s title. She now looks to keep her unbeaten record intact against Frausto, the younger sister of Bellator champion Zoila Gurgel.

Frausto has been inactive in MMA since a razor-thin split decision loss in September 2010, but like her sister, she has been active in grappling tournaments as she looks to round out her MMA game. Both of Frausto’s pro wins have come via first-round TKO, and she should hold an edge over Cummins in the standup department. However, ring rust could play a factor when Frausto steps back into the cage for the first time in nearly 17 months.

Quick results

Michelle Ould (6-3) defeated Gina Gallea (0-1) by submission (armbar) at the 2:19 mark of round one at “Fight Me MMA” on Jan. 13 in St. Charles, Mo. The bout was a very late addition to the card, and both fighters had less than a week to prepare. Ould took down Gallea right away and unleashed a barrage of elbows and hammerfists from the top. The fighters were stood up after a lull in the action, and Ould wound up on the bottom after a failed takedown attempt. She quickly spun into the armbar, and Gallea hastily tapped out.

Anita “El Tigre” Rodriguez (5-2) defeated Liz Carreiro (5-9) by unanimous decision at “KOTC: Total Destruction” on Jan. 21 in Thackerville, Okla. Rodriguez, who took the fight on short notice, got back on track with the win after falling to Tonya Evinger in September. The loss to Evinger was Rodriguez’s first since she dropped a split decision to Strikeforce veteran Jeri Sitzes in her March 2009 pro debut.

Trisha Clark (2-5) defeated Maia Kahaunaele (0-1) by unanimous decision at “C3 Fights: January SlamFest” on Jan. 21 in Newkirk, Okla. Clark has maintained an active schedule since her July 2010 pro debut but came up short in each of her four bouts this past year. She returned to the win column by spoiling Kahaunaele’s pro debut.

Upcoming fights

Marion Reneau (1-0) faces Julia Avila (0-0) at “The Warriors Cage 13: Impact” on Jan. 27 in Porterville, Calif. Reneau returns to the cage for the first time since she stopped Chantalle Castellanos at TWC 7 in March 2010. Avila makes her pro debut in the fight.

Kyoko Kimura (1-0) faces Mizuho Sato (6-5) at “Pancrase Progress Tour 1″ on Jan. 28 in Tokyo. Kimura, a long-time professional wrestler famous for competing in violent “death matches,” upset female MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita in her November Pancrase debut. She looks to pick up her second win against another veteran, Sato, who returns after a 14-month hiatus.

Naoko Omuro (11-8-4) faces Yuko Kawabata (0-3) in a rematch at “DEEP: Fujisan Festival” on Jan. 29 in Fuji, Japan. Omuro earned a unanimous-decision victory over Kawabata when the pair faced off at “Valkyrie 4″ in February 2010. The bout with Omuro will be the second rematch of Kawabata’s career. She fell to “Happy” Fukuko Hamada for a second time this past July and now hopes to capture her first MMA victory.

(Pictured: Hitomi Akano and Sara McMann)

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every other Monday. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

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